


you know what they say

by mido



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Blood (nosebleed), M/M, Sickfic, barely implied rio/kotori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-30 11:03:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19851817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mido/pseuds/mido
Summary: only idiots get sick in summer.





	you know what they say

**Author's Note:**

> anon req from tumblr >__^ hope you enjoy!

It takes a village, as the saying goes. Similarly, it would take a village for Kamishiro Ryouga to admit he was sick.

He wasn’t exactly conscious enough to even register Rio’s presence when she watches him struggle pathetically to lift his arms and sit up on the couch, reaching for the remote and making a mountain out of molehill. She looks on with a dutiful expression, and thinks to herself,  _ oh how the mighty have fallen _ as she pulls out her cellphone, accessorized with a tiny cross charm. She wasn’t really all that religious even after learning of her past life, but she thought it was cute enough to stick on her phone when she came across it in a store a couple weeks ago.

She sends a quick text, looking away from Ryouga’s struggle for a moment, then pockets the device. “Need any help, brother dearest?” She wonders aloud, sauntering over and feeling healthier than ever, if her smoothie that morning was anything of reference. Ryouga glares at her and turns away just in time to spare her from getting coughed on as he doubles over into a fit, the ragged and mucusy sound of his irritated throat making her cringe. “There’s lunch in the fridge, and I set some tea to steep, the honey’s right next to it.” She sighs, checking her watch.  _ I’m already late. _ “I have a date with Kotori, so I’ll be off.” Before she exits out the front door she spares Ryouga one last sympathetic glance, but it quickly disappears when her phone vibrates in her skirt pocket. She closes the door softly behind her-- maybe he’s delirious enough he even notice she’s gone.  _ There’s no way, _ she thinks tiredly to herself, and wonders if Ryouga will be bothered if she borrows his bike, just this once. Can’t hurt while he’s not using it, she figures.

Ryouga, on the other hand, jots down a mental note to give Rio hell when he’s back to his usual, not-stuffy-slash-achy-slash-feverish self for the sound of his engine revving in the garage.  _ Not much I can do right now, though _ , he thinks, accepting the premise with a little more ease than as per usual. He drags himself to his feet and sniffs disgustingly loud, the sound of his snot-filled sinuses filling the living room and making him glad no one else is around. 

The tea Rio’s set to steep is his favorite, a light oolong, and the egg timer she set goes off as soon as he sets begrudged foot in the kitchen. He grimaces at the noise, sticking a pinky in his ear as he goes to turn it off. What he doesn’t account for is just how tired he really is as he trips over his own feet, slamming facefirst on the tiled kitchen floor. His nose hurts like a bitch now, but Ryouga’s pretty sure it’s not broken. The sticky feeling on his cheek when he turns his face to a more comfortable angle makes it apparent it’s bleeding, though. Ryouga wonders if he could get away with napping in a situation like this-- he’s really quite tired even despite the nap he took on the couch earlier, and his fever has put him in a state of needing constant rest even when he shouldn’t.  _ I’ll deal with it when I wake up… _

“Ryouga? Ryouga-- Oh god, Ryouga!” 

Before he can even manage to close his eyes, a familiar voice has descended upon him, flipping him over and searing the kitchen lights into his eyes for a moment before leaning over him and getting a little too close for comfort.  _ IV,  _ he thinks offhandedly.  _ No, Thomas. _

“Ryouga? Ryouga?! Oh my god, Ryouga, say something! Oh my god, I’ve gotta call the hospital--” Thomas rushes, scrambling to pull his phone from his pocket. “Ryouga? Stay with me Ryouga, okay?” 

“Shut up, dumbass.” He mutters, wiping his still-bleeding nose on his shirt. “Oh thank god-- oh Jesus, you’re bleeding! We have to get you medical help!” Thomas cries, looking increasingly panicked before Ryouga, still quite feverish, places a definitely-not-exactly-clean hand over Thomas’s mouth. “Shush.” He murmurs, straining his eyes to see Thomas’s expression through the light above the both of them. “Nosebleed.” He says, letting his hand fall when the other quiets. “I fell.”

Thomas’s mouth opens in a small  _ o _ , and he looks deeply embarrassed as his cheeks flush red. “Oh.” He says. They stay like that for a moment, Ryouga cradled in Thomas’s arms with too little energy to stand and Thomas leaning over him with the ceiling light like a halo behind his head. Neither is really sure what the next step is in this situation. 

“I’ll get you a cloth!” He exclaims, and moves a little too quickly setting Ryouga back down, the other hissing as his head bops against the tile again. Thomas looks at him apologetically and bites his lip, not wanting to annoy the shorter of the two any more with his voice, and runs a paper towel under water from the sink, then helps Ryouga sit up. Blood and snot still flow from his nose in a steady stream, so Thomas quickly tries to wipe away the blood on his cheek before grabbing a second paper towel and holding it to his nostril. “Hold that there.” He says, his voice softer than before, and Ryouga wonders absentmindedly for a second when Thomas became such a housewife. “I’m gonna take you to the couch, okay?” He asks, but doesn’t really wait for permission when he hooks his arms under Ryouga’s shoulders and knees, picking him up in a bridal carry. 

Ryouga’s first instinct is to squirm and fight, but Thomas fixes him with a look that says  _ I’ll drop you _ so he restrains himself, pouting without realizing it. Thomas bites his lip to keep from smiling, thinking to himself,  _ why can’t he be this cute when he’s healthy? _

He sets him down on the couch and Ryouga immediately sinks into the cushions, relishing in the change from the hard tile floor. He tries to lean on his side and lay down, but Thomas pushes him upward again, saying, “Wait until your nose is done!” Ryouga glares at him, but doesn’t put up a fight when he plops down next to him and changes the channel on the TV.

It takes all of five minutes for Ryouga to conk out again, and all of ten for Thomas to realize Ryouga’s nose has stopped, and more importantly, Ryouga is leaning on him, fast asleep. He’s suddenly hyper aware of Ryouga’s movements in his sleep, his breathing, his warmth-- he wills himself to calm down and to, more importantly, not get a boner. He focuses on the film on the TV currently, though it’s incredibly boring, and pays attention to every last detail to keep his mind from the boy sleeping against him. 

Eventually, however, he feels his own eyes drooping, his mind going just a tiny bit hazy with the beginnings of sleep before he rests his head atop Ryouga’s own, still snoozing peacefully.  _ Wake up before him, Thomas, _ he tells himself strictly, although that thought goes to voicemail the second he succumbs, too.

By the time he rouses himself, Ryouga is still out like a light, snoring softly and mumbling in his slumber. Without really realizing what he’s doing, he groggily presses a kiss to Ryouga’s crown and wraps an arm around his waist, and promptly falls back asleep.

Needless to say, Rio has plenty of blackmail material by the time they wake up.


End file.
